Back in September, we published serial traveler Matthew Kepnes' ultimate travel hacking guide , sharing his best tips and advice on how to travel cheaply without sacrificing comfort. The guide inspired many questions, so Matt had an idea: It's one thing to say "Hey, this stuff works," but it's another to actually show how it works. So here's alternative travel mexico city how Matt managed a 10-day trip to London for a measly $700.
Ed. note: While not every hack Matt employs will come easily to all of us, his guide is full of clever methods that can shave dollars off your next trip to London or elsewhere. Also worth noting: Several of Matt's suggestions involve using rewards points or miles. At first glance, that may seem rather unrealistic if you aren't already a frequent traveler, however alternative travel mexico city Matt does provide several tips for how you can accumulate points and miles without spending any money.
The first city on my list is London. I came here for a 10-day trip for a travel conference and thought it would make for the perfect example. alternative travel mexico city London is notorious for being one of the most expensive places in the world to visit. No one goes to London alternative travel mexico city under the assumption that they aren't going to spend a lot of money.
Using my own travel hacking tips, 10 days in London only cost me 481.21 GBP $710 USD. That works out to be roughly $70 USD per day. And that's not just my day-to-day expenses. That includes EVERYTHING my flight to London, my hotel, transportation, alternative travel mexico city food, drinking, and attractions.
Think about that for a second: I had a 10-day alternative travel mexico city vacation in London for $700 USD that included airfare. When was the last time you went to Europe alternative travel mexico city for that little money? When was the last time any real big international trip cost that kind of money? How Did I Do It?
Before I explain how I did it, I want to take a second alternative travel mexico city to explain some of the ground rules I laid out for myself. I didn't backpack London. My goal was to show the budget travelers of the world the two-week alternative travel mexico city holiday makers that you can do London on the cheap without being a backpacker. That saving money isn't all dorm rooms, couchsurfing, and eating pasta.
3. I couldn't say "no" because it was expensive . Many backpackers skip sightseeing because of the cost but I wanted to do all the normal sightseeing alternative travel mexico city activities regular tourists do. You don't go on a short vacation to not sightsee right?
I'm a frequent flier, so I can generate a lot of miles per year. I normally fly about 40,000 to 50,000 miles per year, which, compared to most travel writers, is pretty low. But I've written extensively on how to get miles for free. I sign up for bonus credit cards, sign up for deals, use preferred merchants, and sign up for every contest that gives extra miles. All told, I have accumulated over 400,000 frequent flier miles with American Airlines alone through these methods.
Sign up for a branded airline credit card: Whether you love Delta or fly United and the Star Alliance, alternative travel mexico city all U.S. carriers have a branded travel alternative travel mexico city credit card that gives you 25,000-30,000 points when you sign up and make one purchase. That's a free economy ticket right there. alternative travel mexico city Airline credit alternative travel mexico city cards are the best way to kick start your mileage balance. Often times they offer huge sign up bonuses. For awhile, American Airlines gave you 75,000 miles when you got their branded credit card. Virgin Atlantic has offered 50,000. United has done 40,000. alternative travel mexico city The quickest and best way to gain a lot of free miles is to get one of these travel credit cards .
Watch out for special promotions alternative travel mexico city : I sign up for all airline alternative travel mexico city mailing lists. I always watch out for special 2-for-1 mile deals. Or when they have special card offers to earn extra miles. American Airlines just gave me 1,000 miles for watching a demo on their new shopping toolbar. I once got 5,000 miles for joining Netflix. Often times you get miles for filling out surveys or they will give you a 100% bonus on purchasing miles. Promotions help big time, and airlines seem to always be offering them. Utilizing promotions over the course of a few months can yield big results.
Sign up for a non-airline credit card : Sign up for a non-airline credit card like a Starwood American Express card and you can get 10,000 sign-up points. When you convert 20,000 points alternative travel mexico city into miles, you get a 5,000-mile bonus. I highly recommend signing up for this card too but signing alternative travel mexico city up for any "points" card like the AMEX travel card or a Capital One card will do. Afterwards, you can transfer your sign-up bonus points to the airline you use and redeem them for flights.
For all of these methods, the bonus points take about 6-8 weeks to post from the time you sign up for a credit card. If you want, sign up for my free newsletter I always post the best mile bonuses on it. Or read Boarding Area , which features all mileage bonuses big and small.
Note: Readers of my blog know I've been in Europe for long time. However, I also went home to Boston in September on a round trip flight from London. I'm using that flight as the basis for this article. Part Two: Accommodation
I had hoped that by the time I went to London, my Marriott or Starwood points would credit to my account. Marriott is offering a new card with Chase that got me 70,000 points plus 1 free stay for signing up and after the first use. I jumped on this deal but the points took too long to place into my account. On the plus side, I now have 70,000 points and a free night at the Marriott for future use.
However, my points didn't get credited in time, so I used more American Airlines alternative travel mexico city miles for this. I used 68,000 points plus $25 USD for 5 nights accommodation in a 4 star hotel. I stayed in a hotel near Hyde Park, a very well-to-do neighborhood in London.
Now, while you can use airline miles for vacations and hotels, you never get as good of a point conversion as you do with flights. Five nights alternative travel mexico city using hotel points would have cost me just 50,000 points. The point here, though, alternative travel mexico city is that by signing up for a branded hotel card, you can use those points to get free hotel stays for your next vacation. Or you can use the bonuses from an airline. Either way, getting free hotel rooms isn't that hard.
For the other 4 nights I was London, alternative travel mexico city I used Wimdu, an apartment rental company. While I normally like hostels, I wanted some peace and quiet while in London as well as a kitchen. The room cost 150 GBP ($238 USD) for 4 nights.
Regarding all these credit cards: While you may get a small short-term ding opening lots of credit cards in a short time, over the long term your credit will be fine so long as you pay off all your cards at the end of the month. Even after opening all these credit alternative travel mexico city cars, I still have a credit alternative travel mexico city score of about 800. Part Three: Attractions
London is great for sightseeing because so much is free here. It makes sightseeing on a budget alternative travel mexico city really easy. The best museums British Library, British Museum, alternative travel mexico city National Gallery, Natural History Museum, Museum of London (just to name a few) are all free. Hyde Park? Free. Kensington Gardens? alternative travel mexico city Free. It's easy to fill a few days with sightseeing in London without ever spending a penny.
But sadly, not everything is free. For attractions that weren't free, I used the London Pass . This tourist card cost me 54 GBP ($86 USD) for two days of sightseeing. It covers over 32 destinations and offers free public transportation. You can get a pass for up to 6 days (87 GBP). There are hundreds upon hundreds of dollars in savings with this pass. However, I didn't have much time nor the desire to see all 32 spots. I was able to see: Westminster Abbey Tower of London St. Paul's Cathedral Ben Franklin House Britain at War Museum Shakespeare's Globe Museum London Tombs
Without this pass, the same attractions would have cost me 104.55 GBP. I saved 50% by using the London Pass and I didn't even use it for everything it offers. This is why in so many of my posts about various cities I always stress getting a city pass if you plan to do a lot of museums and tours. You can save a lot of money by doing so. It's one of the best budget travel tips out there and is all too often overlooked. Part Four: Food
I didn't want to be the typical backpacker and eat kebabs and pasta for every meal. But at the same time, I know locals don't eat out 100% of the time, either, and a great way to save money is to cook, which is part of the reason I got a place with a kitchen for my last 4 nights. I wanted to mix eating alternative travel mexico city out with cooking a few meals. During my 10 days in London, I spent 103.80 alternative travel mexico city GBP ($165 USD) on food, which broke down the following ways:
The rest was spent on dining out. I got pizza one day, went out for good Thai for one dinner, had great Indian one night, ate typical fish and chips the next, had a few Starbucks green teas, and tons of kebabs. alternative travel mexico city They are everywhere in London. According to my friends, you are a true Londoner if you are dining on kebabs, especially if it's after a night out.
As I said, I didn't want to skimp on meals. I ate how I wanted to eat, when I wanted to eat. I did look for deals though as any good budget traveler knows that good food doesn't have to be expensive. In London, I found the best way to eat out on a budget alternative travel mexico city was to look for lunch specials. Most restaurants I came across had lunch specials and many pizza places offered a "buy one, get one free" deal on takeaway.
Another great way to save money is to get the Taste Card . This diner's club card offers 50% discounts on thousands of restaurants as well as two for one specials. It can really pay off, especially on those nice meals you'll want to have. You can only live on fish and chips for so long. Part Five: Transportation
For transportation to Heathrow airport, I took the Heathrow express to get into the city (18.50 GBP) and the London Underground to get out (5 GBP). Around the city, I loaded my oyster card (metro card) for unlimited use within Zones 1-3 for 7 days at a cost of 32.20 GBP. (Everything you really need to see is mostly in Zone 1, but my conference was in Zone 3, so I had get out there.) Conclusion: How Mu
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