My First Travel Hack: I’m Going to Spain for $63

by Melanie

I’m not going to lie. When I first heard about travel hacking (getting miles through credit card sign-up bonuses), I gave it one big eye roll and a hefty sigh.

Yeah, right!

I just didn’t believe it was possible. Or I did, and I thought that you had to spend too much money.

You see, I live on a pretty bare bones budget. I don’t even spend $1,000 per month on basic expenses, and I can’t pay my student loans with credit cards, so I thought that the spending requirements were out of reach. Also, let’s not forget that I got my first credit card a little over a year ago.

But I kept reading post after post about people going on vacation for what seemed like an absurdly cheap amount.

You guys know that my number one priority is getting out of debt. But a close second priority is traveling. My initial goal was to travel abroad once a year, but then life happened and it’s been about every other year. Something to note, is that I’m a frugal traveler and don’t travel unless I find sweet deals. I also always stay in hostels. My trips have usually cost around $1,500. Even so, that’s still a chunk of change — roughly two months of debt repayment. So I’ve tried to quell my thirst for travel, but if I’m honest, I think about traveling every day. I have an insatiable wanderlust and if I die tomorrow, I would regret not traveling more.

But I am trying to manage my debt and become debt free asap, while also still enjoying life. At $35,000 left to go, I still have several years of debt repayment, unless I can double or triple my income, which I hope to do at some point 🙂

So after realizing that I don’t want to compromise my debt repayment (too much) and that I still want to travel, I had to figure out how to do both, creatively. So I reluctantly applied for another (rewards) credit card. I knew my spending was low, so I took the slow and steady route.

I applied for the American Airlines card that required spending $1,000 in 3 months, to get 30,000 bonus miles. I was able to do that, and then after flying to New Orleans for FinCon on AA, and spending a little bit more, I had 40,000 miles.

A mere 40,000 miles was enough for me to go abroad off-season! It took me a while to find a flight as Portland is not a hub (ahh, sometimes I really miss living in LA or NYC!), but I finally found one. It’s not the best, but hey, I’m going to Spain for peanuts.

I’m flying from Portland to Seattle, then to Dallas, then to Madrid! Yikes. But for the price of some airport taxes at a mere $63!

Screen Shot 2014-12-02 at 6.20.20 PM

I’ll be going for 2 whole weeks in late April to early May! I’ll be flying into Madrid, which is where my love of travel first hit. When I was 21, I saved up for a year to study abroad in Spain for the summer. It was amazing. So I’m happy to get back and visit it 9 years later!

The real reason I’m going to Spain though is because one of my best friends in Portland is teaching English there until June, which means I have a limited time to visit her.

Her teaching placement is crazy. She is in a ridiculously cute location in Nerja. Every time I see her pictures on Facebook, I get excited about seeing this place in person!

Also, because I’ll be in Spain, I’ve decided to check something off my bucket list and go to Lisbon, Portugal! If you listened to the very end of my podcast interview with Shannon, you know that this was on the top of my list!

I’ll be traveling solo as my partner just got a better paying job at a music nonprofit (yay!), which is a step up from a music store. We want to grow his career a bit, and travel together again at some point.

I plan to keep it as frugal as possible and will side hustle my way there through brand ambassador work and any work that is not related to writing or editing.

So there you have it! A newbie travel hacker booking her first flight abroad. But I would like to share this post, with one big caveat.

Travel hacking isn’t for everyone. I repeat, it’s not for everyone. Some people write about travel hacking like everyone should be doing it, and that you’re an idiot if you don’t.

But the thing is, not everyone is good with credit cards. Even though I’ve paid off my balances in full every month, I’ve seen some credit card creep in my own life that I had to manage. It’s a slippery slope and I can totally see how rewards cards can encourage more spending. What works for other people, may not work for you. And if you are in credit card debt now, then definitely don’t try this at home, folks.

I think it’s important to be honest that yes, travel hacking is possible, but it’s still not a great idea for everyone. If you’re bad with credit cards, why would you put yourself through that? If you knew someone was an alcoholic, you wouldn’t recommend they get a drink, right? So I don’t want to recommend things to people that might just be a bad idea, but rather share my own experience with travel hacking.

The slow and steady route…I don’t ever see myself having a dozen cards, but I do want to be smart with my credit card spending, and try to pay off debt and reap the “rewards”.

What are your thoughts on travel hacking? Know anyone in Madrid or Lisbon I can stay with? 🙂

p.s. Michelle so eloquently stated why I prioritize travel.

Melanie
Latest posts by Melanie (see all)

47 comments

Kirsten December 3, 2014 - 4:41 am

Wow!!! That is so exciting and awesome!

I love to travel… But not with small kiddos. I’m hoping we are out of debt in a few years and able to put together some really great and nearly free family vacations!

Reply
Melanie December 3, 2014 - 3:02 pm

You’ll get there! It’s all about planning!

Reply
Kasey @ Debt Perception December 3, 2014 - 5:25 am

Way to go! Looks like it’ll be a fun trip! My husband and I have a rewards card. We have only built up about $248 worth of travel expenses at this point, but that would still easily get me round trip tickets to visit my family in the summer.

Reply
Melanie December 3, 2014 - 3:00 pm

Nice! Anything helps, right?

Reply
Tonya@Budget and the Beach December 3, 2014 - 7:22 am

How fun Melanie! Glad you found such a great deal!

Reply
Melanie December 3, 2014 - 3:00 pm

Yeah, at this point it doesn’t make sense to travel without a deal!

Reply
Brian @ Debt Discipline December 3, 2014 - 7:23 am

We want to travel more, so we are looking into the best ways to save money on travel costs. How are you going to cover the other cost associated with the 2 week trip?

Reply
Melanie December 3, 2014 - 2:58 pm

I plan to cover the costs by side hustling as a brand ambassador. I just booked a gig for $500, which will go straight into my Spain fund. I will either stay with friends or in hostels and eat light for two meals a day (I like to have a nice dinner). I generally walk everywhere when I’m in town to explore so don’t take taxis or the bus. I also will be working some while I am there as well!

Reply
Brian @ Debt Discipline December 5, 2014 - 8:18 am

Sounds like a great plan!

Reply
Shannon @ Financially Blonde December 3, 2014 - 7:39 am

Ha! As soon as I saw your blog title I wondered “is she going to hit Portugal while she is there as well?” Yay!!!! I am so psyched for you that you are going to do this!! I was just talking to a client about travel hacking her way to Europe next summer. It’s a great alternative when you don’t have the extra cash or would rather use it to pay down debt. I am so excited for you!!

Reply
Melanie December 3, 2014 - 2:51 pm

I can’t wait! I’ll also get to really test what it’s like to be “location independent”.

Reply
Michelle December 3, 2014 - 10:30 am

Love this post! Sounds like a fun trip. I hope you have a great time!

We have been travel hacking for a few years now, but we do want to get more into it eventually. We are no Club Thrifty when it comes to travel hacking, but maybe one day 🙂

Reply
Melanie December 3, 2014 - 2:47 pm

That’s awesome! Haha I’m not at her level either. It’s so inspiring though. But for now, slow and steady is for me. It will help me be able to still travel sometimes and focus on debt.

Reply
Erin @ Journey to Saving December 3, 2014 - 10:47 am

How awesome!! Looks beautiful there. I really love this, too, because our spending often doesn’t meet the requirements of the better cards. I think we might be able to pull off $1,000 in 3 months if we plan major expenses around it. This gives me hope. =) Our student loan debt is still a priority, but if we can earn points through regular purchases, we might as well.

Reply
Melanie December 3, 2014 - 2:44 pm

I paid for our groceries and my health insurance, so was able to make it work! There is hope as long as you take the slow and steady route like me. I’m excited to try to maximize rewards, while still keeping spending in check.

Reply
Kayla @ Shoeaholicnomore December 3, 2014 - 11:01 am

Nice! That sounds like an exciting trip!

Reply
Melanie December 3, 2014 - 2:38 pm

Yeah, I’ll definitely take pics and share my frugal finds.

Reply
Kassandra December 3, 2014 - 1:04 pm

Congrats on getting away to Spain next year! My DH traveled to Spain last month for a week for work and he really liked the cities he visited. It’s all about the planned spending in order to reap the travel hacking rewards; great job!

Reply
Melanie December 3, 2014 - 2:36 pm

I’m really excited! I’m now inspired to hustle even harder. It will be a sweet return to go to Spain and check out Portugal.

Reply
Petrish @ Debt Free Martini December 3, 2014 - 3:42 pm

Oh can I come…just kidding. This is great please take lots of pictures and share all the details when you get back. I have never tried this, but I realize it really does work.

Reply
Melanie December 5, 2014 - 2:18 pm

Yes, come meet me! 🙂 I will take a lot of photos!

Reply
Ben Luthi December 3, 2014 - 4:32 pm

Awesommmmmmee! 🙂 I love it! Europe is the way to go. I lived in Germany for a couple of years and haven’t been back for 7 years now. I’m dying to go!

Reply
Melanie December 5, 2014 - 2:17 pm

Wow, that’s so cool you lived in Germany for a few years. I’d love to live abroad for a few years at some point. You should travel hack your way back!

Reply
Emma Lincoln December 3, 2014 - 5:31 pm

Congrats on your first travel hack! I’ll be posting mine pretty soon too 🙂

Reply
Melanie December 5, 2014 - 2:16 pm

Awesome! I’ll check back and stop by 😉

Reply
Bailey December 3, 2014 - 6:36 pm

As soon as I get my credit card paid off and my credit score up, I’m going to travel hack! Now that I use YNAB, it really helps me to use my (debit) card and still stay on budget.

Reply
Melanie December 5, 2014 - 2:15 pm

Yeah, get that cc debt paid off first! That’s awesome that YNAB is helping you. Keep up the good work and thanks for stopping by. 🙂

Reply
Nichole @Budget Loving Military Wife December 4, 2014 - 5:19 am

How fun, I’m thrilled for you! 🙂 Spain/Portugal is on our list too for next year. It’s just a hop and a skip for us from England fortunately. Can’t wait to see your pictures and read about your adventures! 🙂

Reply
Melanie December 5, 2014 - 2:14 pm

You should definitely make it then! You’re so close! 🙂

Reply
N December 4, 2014 - 7:40 am

Sounds wonderful!!

That’s so nice that you will get to visit your friend while she is working there- also a dream of mine! Which company did she go through? I’ve heard horror stories about many of them and want to avoid getting with one of them!

Reply
Melanie December 5, 2014 - 2:11 pm

She is working directly with the Ministry of Education in Spain!

Reply
Christine @ The Wallet Diet December 4, 2014 - 12:42 pm

Let me know if you’d like some tips for Lisbon 🙂 I was there last year and stayed at a great apartment via Airbnb. Can give you more deets if you’d like!

Reply
Melanie December 5, 2014 - 2:11 pm

Thanks for your lovely email! Eek, so excited!

Reply
Connie @ Savvy With Saving December 4, 2014 - 3:11 pm

That’s awesome! I would love to go to Spain and Portugal one day. I travel hack but in moderation. It can be overwhelming trying to keep track of all those credit cards.

Reply
Melanie December 5, 2014 - 2:10 pm

I’m going to be the same way. I feel uncomfortable having 3 cards, but use one at a time!

Reply
Michelle December 4, 2014 - 9:04 pm

This is fantastic!!! I can’t wait to see the pictures of your trip. I love Spain but I’ve never been to Portugal.

Reply
Melanie December 5, 2014 - 2:09 pm

Finally, I’ll have more pictures on the blog lol…I’m trying to change that for 2015 anyway. This will be a nice reason 🙂

Reply
Robin December 6, 2014 - 8:56 pm

I haven’t tried the travel hacking thing yet. I’ve been skeptical like you are, though I am pretty good with credit cards. It just seems like a lot to keep up with and I always worry that I wouldn’t be able to redeem it for anything I want.

Reply
Melanie December 9, 2014 - 9:41 am

I think it’s so important to have a specific goal in mind! If not, it can get blurry.

Reply
Lisa December 10, 2014 - 1:45 pm

How exciting! Spain is definitely on my bucket list!

I love how you also mention that travel hacking isn’t for everyone – myself included! I refuse to travel hack until I am credit card debt free! Until then, I need to focus on debt repayment.

Reply
Melanie December 11, 2014 - 12:22 pm

I love Spain! Good for you for being smart and realizing it’s not a wise idea to travel hack until you are CC debt free!

Reply
Andrew@LivingRichCheaply December 11, 2014 - 11:03 am

If you are good with credit cards, I think travel hacking is really awesome. I wish I caught on earlier before the little one came…I don’t think we’ll be traveling too much nowadays.

Reply
Melanie December 11, 2014 - 12:11 pm

It can be nice for cash back too!

Reply
Athena December 16, 2014 - 9:39 am

How exciting! I’ve always wanted to go to Spain and Italy, I will be living vicariously through you!

Reply
Melanie December 18, 2014 - 5:27 pm

I’ll take lots of photos 😉

Reply
amanda April 30, 2015 - 6:13 am

Yay for travel hacking! I was skeptical at first too my friend basically had to twist my arm. Proud to say I haven’t paid for a flight in three years lol.

Reply
Joymarie April 30, 2015 - 9:53 am

This is great! I love learning about different hacks and cost-effective ways to travel. I booked my first glitch fare deal recently to Abu Dhabi for $187 as well and now I’m hooked! Can’t wait to explore more of the world.

Reply

Leave a Comment

* By using this form you agree with the storage and handling of your data by this website.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. Accept Read More