November 2019 Real World Travel, Budget, Deal, and Life Hacking
This month’s life hacking digest is full of deal stacking, credit card offers, hotel points, airline miles, lodging hacking, and much more. There’s even a few new and ongoing offers that came up this month! Read on to see how we made hundreds of dollars in points and miles, saved hundreds with deal stacking, and spent only $36 in lodging costs.
This is a recurring series where we talk about our travel, budget, deal, and life hacking for the month. We share with you in hopes that you’ll find a few takeaways to implement yourself.
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As a digital nomad couple pursuing financial independence, retire early (FI/RE) we’re often asked how we keep our budget and expenses so low.
Being minimalists and frugal helps, but there’s a bit more to it than that. We’re able to get exponential savings and benefits with travel hacking, stacking deals and offers, house sitting, strategically using miles and points, and being flexible enough to take advantage of opportunities as they come up!
Quick Links
If you’re wondering how to travel internationally, or simply vacation nearby and not spend a fortune on airfare or hotels, then we’d like to welcome you to the world of ‘travel hacking’. See what credit cards we carry, and how we take full advantage of the points and miles we’ve earned.
Amex Offers - fuboTV
We checked our Amex Offers this month and found that our Hilton Surpass credit card was giving us $20.00 back on our next bill for fuboTV!
We attached the offer to our eligible credit card and made sure we paid the bill with it.
“We saved $20.00, which is nearly a 45% savings on our monthly fuboTV bill.”
Tip: Take your savings to the next level by using the ‘right’ card that offers the highest category multiplier, i.e. 4x at office stores.
Amex Offers - Staples (Airbnb & Starbucks)
We’re on the constant look out for Amex Offers that we can take advantage of. This month an offer for $25.00 back on $100 at Staples also came up on our Hilton Surpass credit card.
While we didn’t need office supplies we can always make use of a gift card. We ended up purchasing $100 in gift cards, $50.00 for Airbnb and $50 for Starbucks.
“We bought $100.00 in gift cards for $75. That’s a 25% savings!”
Tip: Gift cards are a great way to take advantage of deals like these, especially when there’s nothing in particular you need to purchase. To make the most of your money, consider purchasing gift cards on services you already use or stores you regularly shop at. Otherwise, they make great gifts!
Cashback Portals
First, no one should ever buy anything online without checking to see if there’s a deal through a cashback portal!
Here’s why, cashback portals offer a flat dollar amount or a percentage back for online purchases (and sometimes even at brick and mortar stores) if you click through their ‘portal’ (a link). So, you purchase something you were already going to buy but get paid to do so. We can’t argue with that!
To keep our cashback concentrated to a few accounts we focus on four of the top cashback portals.
Mr. Rebates - Sign up through our link and get a $5 bonus!
BeFrugal - Sign up through our link and get a $10 bonus!
Rakuten (formerly eBates)- Sign up through our link and get a $10 bonus!
TopCashback - Sign up through our link and get a $10 bonus!
TopCashback - JBL Headphones
We found JBL headphones (MSRP $39.95) on sale for $9.95 this past Veterans Day. We stacked the purchase with a 6% cashback offer from TopCashback and purchased two JBL headphones. The cherry on top was free shipping!
“After the sale and cashback we purchased two pairs of JBL headphones for $18.71. That’s a savings of $61.19!”
TopCashback - Insignia Pressure Cooker
Black Friday isn’t just our wedding anniversary, it’s also a huge day of shopping and scoring great deals.
We were going to purchase an Instapot that was on sale to give as a gift (we love these for quickly and easily steaming veggies!) when we found the Insignia Pressure Cooker on an even better sale. For reference the Instapot 6L was on sale for $49.99 but the Insignia Pressure Cooker 6L was on sale for $29.99.
With such high ratings we couldn’t justify paying $20 more for the brand name version. So, we went through TopCashback
to purchase the Insignia Pressure Cooker (a Best Buy store brand) and in addition to the sale price, we got 2% cashback.
Chase Offer + TopCashback - Samsung
Sergio’s had his eye on a Samsung 970 EVO Plus NVMe M.2 1TB SSD to upgrade the drives in our laptops. And of course, Black Friday is the perfect time to find deals!
We not only found the drives on sale for $200 (MSRP $250), but we found a few other offers to stack and make these drives a phenomenal deal!
Chase Offer
We checked our Chase Offers this month and found that two of our Chase credit cards, the Chase Ink Business Preferred and the Southwest Rapid Rewards Premier Business Visa, would give us 20% back on a purchase at Samsung. We attached the offer to our eligible credit cards and made sure we made the purchase with them.
TopCashback Sign Up Bonus
We each signed up for a TopCashback account with a limited time signup bonus promotion of $35!
TopCashback
Before making the SSD purchase we clicked through TopCashback for an offer of 8% back at Samsung.
Rinse and Repeat
We purchased each drive separately under our individual accounts. Here’s how the math worked out:
$250 (regular price)
-$50 (sale price)
-$40 (Chase Offer - 20% back)
-$35 (TopCashback signup bonus)
-$16 (TopCashback 8% back)
_________________________
$109 Final Price
We purchased two drives at $109 which were originally $250!
“We stacked a sale, a Chase Offer, a bonus, and TopCashback to save a total of $282 on two SSDs! ”
Don’t miss our Ultimate Gear and Packing Lists! Whether you’re traveling long-term or going on a short vacation, we'll show you how to travel with a single carry-on. We share our packing lists (his and hers!), packing tips, and our favorite gear. Plus, we discuss what we don’t carry and why!
Be sure to use the best credit card you have for the specific category you’re spending in (travel, restaurant, office supplies, etc.) to maximize savings/points further.
In the case of Lyft, credit card transactions code as ‘travel’ so you’ll want you be sure and use the best card (highest multiplier) in that category. Cards like the Chase Sapphire Reserve (3x on travel), Wells Fargo Propel (3x on travel), Citi Premier (3x on travel), etc.
The exception to using the card with the best travel multiplier is when you’re trying to hit a minimum spend to get a bonus on a specific credit card.
Price shop all ride sharing services: Uber, Lyft, Juno, etc. Also, you can use the Bellhop app to compare services.
Review ride sharing reward programs to find the program that best suits your riding habits.
If possible, avoid surge pricing. Prices increase in situations where demand is especially high for rides, like rush hour or when it’s raining.
When using a ride sharing service that offers reward points or miles on other reward programs, be sure to connect the appropriate accounts. For example, Hilton, and Delta accounts should be connected to your Lyft account.
New! 20% Back on Lyft with SoFi Money
If you don’t have a SoFi Money account, open one now!
SoFi is currently running a very lucrative referral program (use our referral link and get $25 for opening your account). Then you might also get an additional offer (we did!) for a $100 bonus for setting up two direct deposits of $500 or more. Between the two of us we’ve made nearly $1000 in bonuses and referrals!
See all of the details on how to make the most out of your SoFi accounts in our Making an Easy $300+ with SoFi Money, Invest, and Loan Referral Program | Make Up to $10,000 article!
We were shocked and excited when we realized SoFi had released a new lucrative promotion. From now until 02/18/20 use your SoFi Money account to pay for your Lyft rides and get 20% cash back!
Here’s SoFi’s Lyft Cash Back Promotion fine print to keep in mind:
20% cash back is on the quoted price only. It does not include fees, surcharges, or tips.
Offer ends 2/18/20 11:59AM EST and your ride must be completed and processed before this date and time.
You can earn a maximum of $1,000.
Cash back can take up to 14 days (however, we’ve seen it deposited into our account by the end of the day).
Freebird for Lyft and Uber
Use Freebird with Lyft or Uber and earn cash back and points with all of your rides!
Download the Freebird app (App Store or Google Play) and connect it to Lyft or Uber. For every ride you take you’ll earn points that you can redeem for rewards or cash. Take it a step further and use Freebird when going to participating business and get cash back on your ride.
Lyft - Business Rewards
For every five Lyft business rides completed (at a minimum of $10.00) a $5.00 ride credit is added to your personal account.
Shannon rides frequently with Lyft for work so she accumulates more $5.00 personal Lyft ride credits than we can use. The only downside to this reward perk is that you can’t combine credits on a ride. Meaning, only one $5.00 personal Lyft ride credit can be used per ride. Sadly, $5.00 doesn’t get us very far in NYC!
“We saved $85.00 with ride credits on Lyft this month!”
Lyft - Hilton Honors Reward Points
Every dollar you spend on Lyft rides (economy, luxury, and extra seats) earn three Hilton Honors points! If you’re taking advantage of Shared Lyft rides then you’ll be earning two points per dollar spent.
We earned 1,201 Hilton Honors points thanks to Lyft business rides this month.
“Per our own valuation of $0.006 cents per point, we earned $7.21 in Hilton Honors points!”
Lyft - Delta SkyMiles
Link your Delta SkyMiles account to Lyft and get one mile for every dollar spent on Lyft rides. Plus, get two miles for every airport ride!
This month we earned a total of 625 Delta SkyMiles by using Lyft to get around town and go to and from the airport for business!
“Per our own valuation of $0.02 a mile, we earned $12.50 in Delta SkyMiles!”
World Elite MasterCard Credit Cards and Lyft
World Elite credit card holders receive a $10 credit after taking five Lyft rides in a calendar month. The credit is automatically applied to your next ride and is capped at one credit per month.
Last month the $10 credit came in handy and kept us and our backpacks dry on a rainy day in New York City. This month, it came in handy after meeting with homeowners for a future house sitting job in Hoboken, New Jersey. It was the end of the day and we wanted to get home, have dinner, and relax. Instead of a 40 minute walk, we had a free 10 minute Lyft ride!
“By using our World Elite MasterCard Card to pay for five rides with Lyft, we saved $10!”
Tip: The World Elite MasterCard bonus is only triggered by taking five personal rides (not business rides) and once earned the $10.00 credit is applied to your next personal ride.
Our tool box is full of resources! From travel hacking to house sitting, digital nomad jobs to privacy and security, financially independent retire early (FI/RE) to entertainment, plus travel hacking (credit cards, miles, points, and rewards), and much much more…
Miles Earned by Flights - Delta
This month we also earned miles the old fashioned way, by flying with Delta.
Shannon flew for work this month exclusively on Delta, earning a total of 4,305 Delta SkyMiles.
“Per our own valuation of $0.02 a mile we earned $86.10 in Delta SkyMiles!”
IHG Hotel Stays and Credit Card Spend
This summer we were approved for the IHG Rewards Club Premier credit card with not only a 125,000 point sign up bonus, automatic Platinum rewards status, but also 40x points on all purchases at IHG properties.
As you can probably guess, our hotel focus has shifted and most of our upcoming stays will be with IHG. This month we earned 16,526 IHG Points!
“Per our own valuation of $0.006 cents a point we earned $99.16 in IHG points!”
Tip: Make the most of your IHG stays by paying with you IHG Rewards Club Premier credit card. You’ll get an additional multiplier on points earned and end up scoring big!
London, San Francisco, Paris, New York City, Athens and more?! Trusted Housesitters has allowed us to travel the world on a budget, but more importantly given us an opportunity to make new friends and have cute and cuddly companions along the way. Sign up and start your next great adventure!
Marriott Platinum Elite Status and Hotel Stays
Marriott Bonvoy Platinum Elite Status
Earn Marriott’s Platinum Elite status by staying 50+ nights (including award nights) within a calendar year.
This month we took advantage of the following Marriott Platinum Elite benefits:
Enhanced internet access
50% bonus on earned points
4 pm late checkout
Room upgrades
Free breakfast
Club lounge access
“This month we used four Suite Night Awards and were upgraded to a suite at a Renaissance property!”
Marriott Hotel Stays
With our 50% point bonus, quarterly promotions, and points earned by paying for stays with our Marriott Bonvoy credit card, we earned 17,083 Marriott Bonvoy points this month.
“Per our own valuation of $0.01 cents a point, we earned $170.83 in Marriott Bonvoy points!”
Tip: Make the most of your Marriott stays by paying with you Marriott Bonvoy credit card. You’ll get an additional multiplier on points earned and end up scoring big!
Google Fi International Cell and Data
As smart phones have become an integral part of daily life, having a reliable plan with voice, text, and data that can take us nationwide as well as internationally at a reasonable price is the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.
As we travel not only around the United States, but worldwide, having a phone that’s affordable, has good coverage, is simple, and ‘just works’ is critical!
There are an incredible number of voice and data carriers and subsequent plans to choose from. We considered the major U.S. providers (AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, and Verizon) and an assortment of mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs), as well as purchasing a SIM upon arriving at new international destinations.
But in the end, Google Fi (formerly Google Project Fi) was hands down the best for our needs, and travel style!
“This month we spent only $29.24 on cell and data with Google Fi!”
Check out Google Project Fi | The Best International Cell Phone & Data Plan for World Travel for more information.
House Sitting - Saving on Rent, Mortgage, and Hotels
In November of 2016 we completed our first house sitting job. We loved it so much that we continued traveling (out of one 36-litter backpack each) and house sitting around Europe for the next year. In that first year, we completed 18 house sitting jobs!
After a year in Europe (3 continents, 26 countries, and 60 cities) we came back to North America and chose to keep house sitting full time.
Now, nearly three years after our first house sitting job we’re nearing our 50th house sit! As we’re currently house sitting primarily in New York City, we’re saving a considerable amount of money by not paying rent, a mortgage, or daily hotel/Airbnb costs.
“We spent $36 in rent, mortgage, Airbnb, and hotel costs. That’s $1.20 a day!”
Here’s a break down of where we stayed and how much we saved by house sitting in November:
Final Thoughts
November was a month of some great and creative deal stacking!
Again, hopefully our travel, budget, deal, and life hacks this month have inspired you to implement similar savings and point and mile earnings.
