Traveling is a Choice, not a Privilege
How I shattered excuses and myths so I could start seeing the world
Hi. Yes you. The person reading these words. I can see you. Not really, stop turning around and acting paranoid. I’m not actually behind you. But I can picture you, and I can talk to you right now in this moment. So you’ve clicked on the title, one that promises cheap travel, and whether out of desire to achieve that or curiosity towards this mysterious person speaking to you, you’re still here. Now if you don’t care for travel there’s an “x” button in the top left of your browser or a round home button on your phone that will make me go away. I won’t take it personally I promise.
Ah. Welcome aboard. Here’s a fact: 15+ cities, 4 countries, 8 different states, just in the last 2 years. I’ve been traveling, a lot. And now I want to bring you along. I want to share what I’m doing so that you can see that there’s no magic to it. So that’s what this is: A quick, concrete, no bull-shit guide on how to travel more.
Get a Credit Card (a very specific one) 💎
“You’ve been to Thailand?! No way that’s amazing how much was your flight?”
“$160….roundtrip.”
….*blank stares, couple of laughs, 0% faith that I’m telling the truth
Three words: Chase Sapphire Preferred. You get the card. You sign the back. You spend $4,000 in 3 months. And then they give you $625 for travel. It’s that easy. Now is spending $4,000 in 3 months easy? Absolutely not. Does it make sense to spend an extra $3000 you wouldn’t otherwise have just to get $625? Obviously not. But hear me out. If you have a lot of bills, or more importantly, can buy other people stuff and have them pay you back, THIS IS FREE MONEY. Do all the grocery shopping for your roommates for 3 months and then have them pay you back. Get the card before the holidays and do all your Christmas shopping with it. Pay your parents bills and then have them pay you back. Find good deals on eBay and resell the stuff. If you get creative, $4000 in 3 months is cake. And then you can go to Thailand for $160. Feel free to use this link to start the process: I may or may not get a referral bonus if you use that. Are you sure I’m not behind you? You should make sure.
Live on Kayak.com/explore 🔎
You give it your price range. You give it what days of the week you want to travel. You give it a time of year. And then you get a map like this:
You click on a dot. You book a flight. And then you go explore. Simple as that. Yes that is a $77 round-trip flight to LA and yes I might be buying it before I finish this blog post.
I’m on this site twice a day, every day, constantly searching, always ready for a new trip. With a cheaper AirBnb and packing food ahead of time, a weekend trip can be made under $200 for everything no problem. Bookmark this site and set it as your homepage. I’m waiting.
Drop your Airline Standards 💩
Spirt Airlines has a rating of 1.5 (out of 5) on Yelp from over 300 reviews. They’ll charge you $10 for printing your ticket at the gate and up to $100 just to bring a carry-on. They charge for water on the plane. And it gets better. Their seats still don’t recline, they use interlaced bands to hold their pamphlets because they can’t afford seat pockets, and their phone customer service is non-existent. Do I use Spirit on a regular basis? You bet I do. Because they’re cheap. Would I book a family trip to the Caribbean where I need to check 3 bags through Spirit? Hell no, I would rather swim there with sharks. But for a weekend getaway where you only have a personal item, they’re absolutely worth it. You save money and you’ll know you’ll flew probably the worst airline in history. Just make sure you don’t talk or lollygag much.
The Magic of a Personal Item 🎒
Every single time I’ve travelled somewhere, the backpack that I bring is easily 20–30% bigger than the technical requirements for a personal item. But if it looks like a regular sized backpack and it’s on your back, NOBODY CARES. I’ve flown Frontier and Spirit countless times, arguably two of the cheapest airlines, and have never had an issue. Learn how to roll clothes, realize you don’t need 4 pairs jeans for a 2 day trip, and start living out of your backpack. Minimalism is unbelievably freeing
Revaluate Your Money 💰 and What Travel Means ✈️
If you get anything out of this entire article, this section and this upcoming claim should be it.
Traveling is not a privilege. It’s a choice.
It’s not something that will come to you if you wish for it long enough. It’s something you go out and get. It’s an active decision you make to change your lifestyle so that you can afford to travel. It’s a redefinition of the word travel itself. It doesn’t have to be a 3 week excursion to the vineyards in Tuscany or the Andes Mountains in Chile. It can be a weekend trip to the nearest coast. It can be a road-trip to the neighboring state. It can be a day adventure to a national park 2 hours from you. Traveling, according to Oxford Dictionary, means to make a journey. It doesn’t mean fancy views, exotic places, 500 Instagram likes, or your friends being jealous. To make a journey.
Let’s talk about money. For the same amount that some people spend on a car payment, you can go to Austin, San Fransisco, San Diego, and Portland. And come back. $519 dollars for round-trip flights to 4 different cities. You don’t have to believe me. You can look at the screenshots I took of the deals at the bottom of this article. I’ve been to these cities and every single one of them is worth it. 10 minutes of searching. 4 different trips. All flying out within a month of finding them. Traveling is a choice not a privilege.
If you made it this far, the ball is now in your court. You have a decision to make. I’m not there, but I know that you are reading these words. I know you read everything that came before this. I know where your mind was when you opened this article. And now our time is almost done. So let me challenge you:
I want you to pick a weekend, and go somewhere.
Don’t buy that bluetooth speaker for now. Put off the bars for a few weekends and the expensive booze run that goes along with them. Sell an old TV or all those clothes you don’t wear. Pick up a few extra shifts at work. Pack a lunch. Flights in October are cheap. Open up Kayak.com, find a flight, and go somewhere. If you’re an introvert like me, there’s a private room / entire home option on AirBnb which is perfect for alone time while you adventure a new place. If you’re an extrovert there’s plenty of hostels on HostelWorld. If your work schedule is tight, find a red-eye flight and come back the same day. Traveling is a choice not a privilege.
How passionate am I about this? If you’re in the Boulder / Denver area and you’re the first person to buy a trip because this article convinced you, I will personally take you and pick you up from DIA and throw in some coffee. I don’t want envy from others. I don’t want likes on my Instagram posts (which is why I don’t post anymore). I want to travel. I want to go on a journey. And I want you to do the same. I look forward to seeing you at DIA some day.
I can’t promise that these are still around but they were when I wrote this.
